Completed Project Details

Project Name:
Study on WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) challenges in Slum areas of Dhaka City

Name of Client: Oxfam, Australian Aid

Period: April 2014 to June 2014

Description of Project:
Although Bangladesh has achieved commendable success in overall coverage of water supply and sanitation services, still urban WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) remains a major challenge. While sanitation coverage in urban areas averages more than 90% (basic) and 55% (improved), only 12 - 30% of slum populations have access to hygienic sanitation facilities. Drinking water, sanitation, solid waste management and other basic services including health, education, and fire safety remain inaccessible due to gaps in relevant policies and disparity in development plans and strategies. Absence of specific policies and regulatory framework for development of slums and squatter settlements are also major barriers. People living in slums are often unaware of the ill effects of unsafe water, unhygienic latrines, and improper disposal of solid wastes and consequently suffer from diseases and burdens of health care costs. For improving WASH services, it is a prerequisite to have a clear understanding of the WASH challenges in urban slum areas. However, there is lack of reliable data/information on the current WASH situation in urban slum areas.
The objective of this study was to assess the current situation of WASH in four selected slums located in Ward no. 21, 24, 35 & 15 of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC). Specific objectives of this study were:

a) To establish evidence based strong rationale for improving access to WASH services for slum dwellers; and

b) To influence relevant stakeholders including GoB line departments, donors, I/NGOs and raise public awareness on sustainable water and sanitation interventions for slum dwellers

Methodology:
As a part of this study, relevant documents, particularly those on WASH situation in urban slums and national level surveys were reviewed. A questionnaire sample survey was conducted during April 2014 in four selected slums of Dhaka city. The questionnaire comprised of six major sections: Socio-economic condition, Water supply, Sanitation, Hygiene (including menstrual hygiene management), Financial Issues, and Other issues
(e.g., solid waste management, drainage). Ten enumerators (five male and five female) and one supervisor were engaged for carrying out the questionnaire survey. Extensive training was provided to the field enumerators with the finalized survey instruments. Four urban slums in Dhaka city were selected for the study: (i) Badda Shahjadpur Jheelpar slum (Ward no. 19), (ii) Boro Moghbazar 12 no. Peyarabagh slum (Ward no. 35), (iii)
Vawalbagh (Nakhalpara) Rail line slum (Ward no. 24) and (iv) Vashantek 1 no. slum (Ward no. 15). The questionnaire survey covered 200 households, 50 from each slum. In addition, 4 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were carried out, one in each slum. The main purpose of the FGDs was to get views of slum dwellers on different aspects of WASH and other issues.

Participation of different stakeholders including member of different professions, agegroups, gender and social groups were ensured in the FGDs. A workshop was organized on 19 June 2014 to share the draft report/ findings of the study and to get feedback of the stakeholders. The draft report was finalized incorporating the feedbacks.